Simone Biles in Paris
Paris, Jul 28 (EFE).-
US superstar Simone Biles returned to Olympics action on Sunday with a dazzling performance and a timely reminder that she remains one of the best gymnasts ever.
After pulling out of several events in Tokyo due to mental health issues, Biles – who has won seven Olympic medals including four Golds – ended the day of qualifying with 59.566, on top of the all-around standings with three categories remaining.
The final of the women’s all-around will be on Thursday.
Her highly anticipated Olympics return saw a host of stars turn out at the Bercy Arena, including rapper Snoop Dogg, editor of fashion magazine Vogue Anna Wintour, actor Tom Cruise and singer Ariana Grande.
Away from the competitive action, training sessions that had been scheduled Sunday in the Seine River in Paris were canceled due to the poor quality of the water.
The Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (OCOG) together with the International Triathlon Federation and the local authorities suspended the sessions after the rain on Friday and Saturday because the “water levels did not provide sufficient guarantees”.
In their statement, they did not specify the rate of E.Coli and enterococci detected.
The triathlon swimming events are scheduled to be held in the river on July 30 for men, July 31 for women and August 5 for the mixed relay.
The men’s and women’s open water marathons are also scheduled to be held in the Seine on August 31 and 5.
The river is being used a competition venue as part of the Paris 2024 strategy to make the capital’s most iconic sites the protagonists of the Games.
France has invested 1.4 billion euros since 2016 in an ambitious plan to improve the Seine’s water quality and make it possible from the summer of 2025 to swim in the stretch of the river that runs through Paris, something that has not been possible for a century.
The mayor of Paris swam in front of the cameras and dozens of journalists on Jul 17 with the head of the Organizing Committee for the Paris 2024 Games, Tony Estanguet, and the prefect (government delegate) in the Ile de France region, to demonstrate that it was safe to swim. EFE
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